How to read your actual miles from the ECU

[ERO1]

No, on the 96 you have to retrieve the mileage from the OBD II. It takes a special scan tool. I was lucky in that the Charlottesville, VA dealership knew exactly what I was talking about and was able to do it very cheaply. Some where in this thread is all my posts about my issues in retrieving the mileage on my '96 850. Here it is...hope this helps! https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... 23#p212484

[Foxxy]

I have a '96 850, so I can't get the tru mileage but I am going to just add what I figure we put on it in a year. What I need to know is how can I add the mileage to the odometer?? I don't want to screw it up , but would really like for it to read close to what it has, so I can change the timing belt when it comes due. Thanks

[esl_97_850_T5]

Foxxy,

If you really want to know your '96 850 mileage, you can do so as a relatively easy, low cost DIY project.

As marshappynation mentioned at /viewtopic.php?f=1&t=56686#p299637 and thrich mentioned at /viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58722, you can read the 1996 850 mileage with an ELM327 cable and a terminal emulator like Hyperterminal or Realterm, avoiding the trip to the dealer, at least for that "mileage reading" purpose.

You can follow the To Read Vehicle Mileage instructions at /viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58822#p298996 to retrieve the raw data for the '96-'97 850 mileage. Then use one of the two methods listed there to convert the raw mileage into something meaningful.

Or you could use the 2 posts by marshappynation and thrich and follow their provided links and/or references.

Any of those approaches should help you to read your '96 850 mileage yourself.

[But if you do use the dealer to read the mileage, then be sure to go equipped with the instructions that were included in jimmy57's Volvo Scan Tool instructions to retrieve the correct mileage on 1996 850, in case the dealer says they don't know how to read the mileage in a '96-'97 850.]

esl_97_850_T5